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Best Dallas Meals Under $20

November 7, 2011 6:00 AM

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By Laura Stillo

If there is anything Dallas does right, it’s dining out. I once had a Texas-via-California friend say to me, “I’ve never eaten so much in my life living in Dallas.” There is a large amount of truth to this; we meet up with our friends on weekday evenings for drinks and enjoy classy Saturday night dinners that lead straight into Sunday brunches, leaving a significant portion of our earnings allocated to ‘social eating’. This type of eating seems all sunshine-and-rainbows at the time, but come the first of the month when your rent is due and credit card bills fill up your mailbox, that chef special and vintage bottle of wine no longer sound so appetizing. Fortunately there are ways around tapping into your savings account in order to consume the tastiest of DFW foods. We present to you the Best Meals Under $20.

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Nick and Sam’s Grill

Nick and Sam’s Grill blends upscale atmosphere and Uptown ambiance with strangely affordable fabulous food. Here, you can bust out your designer (though purchased at DSW) pumps and get a great meal for less than one Andrew Jackson. Try the Mussels, soaked in coconut milk, for $10 and round out your meal with the Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with red pepper hummus, avocado and feta on whole wheat bread, served with soup, house salad or Saratoga chips for $9.

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Taverna

Taverna’s sexy atmosphere can create the illusion of high menu prices and scenarios in your head of your server handing you a receipt emblazoned with the words credit card declined. Not so. Try the Pizza Margherita for $11. As this is an Italian restaurant, there’s no way I’m letting you have a meal without a proper glass of wine. Ask your server for a glass of Vini Rossi Nuar Pino Nero for $8.50. Also, Jake Pavelka from The Bachelor has been spotted dining here, so that’s practically dinner and a show for under $20.

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Matt’s Rancho Martinez

There’s a line in the Denton-based band Bowling For Soup song “Ohio (Come Back To Texas)” that says, “Besides the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway.” This is correct, and you should get your fill of delicious (and affordable) Mexican food offered in the Metroplex, reveling in the fact that northerners are seriously missing out. At Matt’s Rancho Martinez, try the Bob Armstrong Dip – queso with guacamole, sour cream and taco meat – at $5.95 for a regular size. Follow with the Enchilada Dinner for $8.95 and your wallet might even have some room left over for a margarita.

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Eddie V’s

Consider ordering a meal at Eddie V’s to be shopping for small designer gems. You can purchase the Louis Vuitton keychain even though you can’t afford the handbag, right? At Eddie V’s, you can afford the Louisiana Oysters appetizer for $12 and the Second Course BLT Wedge Salad for $8 even though you may not be able to afford the Pacific Ahi Tuna.

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Village Burger Bar

It’s not possible to create any form of a ‘Top List’ involving food without including a mean, tasty burger. Village Burger Bar in West Village boasts one of the best burgers and hang-out-with-your-friends-and-watch-the-Rangers-game vibes in town. You have to try the Blue Burger: bacon, avocado and blue cheese crumbles for $6.20 paired with Stella Artois on tap for $5. Don’t forget their sweet potato fries – a side for $1.50 or a basket for $3, depending on your level of hunger. You may even scrape by with some leftover change.